Silenced Hearts
by Sora Tayuya
Summary: Roxas is losing himself. While gaining memories that are not his own, he cannot help but know that this is wrong. He cannot remember anything that he did himself, he only sees Sora. "Why...can't I...be..." -Alternate Universe KH2-
1. To Take

**Kingdom Hearts 2: Silenced Hearts**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Titles used in this work

* * *

**Day I**

Repossession

_"No matter how they plead to you, coming for your soul..."_

-"Incarnation of Evil" by Candlemass

"The pain comes from knowing that we have never been safe, and therefore will never be safe again.

It comes from knowing we can never be so ignorant again. It comes from knowing we can never be children again.

Losing innocence. Remembering heaven. That was the essence of hell."  
- John Jakes

* * *

_**A**_ nondescript white blur was all that was seen by the townsfolk as they walked through the quiet town in the last few hours of the daytime to attend to their daily lives. No one walking down the twilight filled streets gave a second glance to the form as it raced past. It was almost as if it did not exist at all. As soon as the strange shape had vanished around a corner, however, another figure rounded the bend, avidly pursuing the figure. A boy raced down the brick road, his chest heaving from exertion and his mind solely focused on apprehending the fleeing shape. As his footsteps pounded on the brick road, his white, undone overshirt waved wildly in the force of his motion, and blonde hair flopped around and bounced with his pace. A black undershirt clung to his sweaty chest, and the long, baggy black pants he wore swished in the breeze his body made as he ran. A cross-like metal symbol hung from his shirt zipper, and his legs had over-flaps of white fabric decorating them.

His messy blonde hair stuck up at an odd angle from the front of his head, and the rest fell untamed in ruffled spikes. Eyebrows scrunched downward, his bright blue eyes had a look of angry annoyance in them as he trained his gaze on the escaping creature. He set his mouth in a determined frown as he sped closer and closer to the twisting form ahead. Rounding another corner, the boy saw the white shape disappear into the gap in the wall which separated the town from the forest, and realized where it was heading. _It's either trying to escape to the forest, or…_He thought to himself, pausing his pursuit to catch his breath. It had only been moments ago that the same strange white figure had slunk seemingly out of nowhere and stolen the camera out of his friend's hand.

He had just faced off with Seifer and his gang and had beaten the gang leader in a make-shift Struggle match after the older male insisted that the younger boy and his friends had stolen the townspeople's items. They fought, and the larger teen lost the match. Almost immediately after, his friend Pence had taken a snapshot of him standing in front of the defeated Seifer, and then that white creature had snatched the camera and fled. He was determined to catch the real thief that had been stealing everybody's possessions lately, so he could clear himself and his friends names, so had begun his pursuit of the culprit.

Racing towards the crumbling hole in the city's wall, he broke through the gap to enter a clearing and heard his footsteps soften as the ground changed from cobblestone to forest floor beneath his feet. Full of old-growth trees, the forest outside the town was perfect place for the thief to hide. It was so expansive that only a few people could navigate it safely enough to avoid getting lost, and only himself and his friends knew the secret path to the old mansion that lay on the other side of the woods. He halted in the cleared space, and watched the white creature as it twisted and turned almost acrobatically around trees and through the air as it fled deeper and deeper into the woods. It seemed as though its path was… _straight towards the mansion? Why would it go there__? T__here's nothing there! And anyway, how is it gliding like that? It doesn't even look like its walking…_

Shaking off his mild confusion, he started to sprint, determined to not let the creature out of his sights. Running through the vegetation, he burst into a clearing, and spied the thief standing in front of the rusted gate to the old mansion. Taking a good look at the creature for the first time, he puzzled at it's appearance, as it was unlike any being he had ever seen before. Entirely white except for blue-grey markings running in lines down its sides, it's feet and hands seemed almost pointed, although it really had no distinct features on them at all. A strange symbol adorned its forehead; what appeared to be a mix between a cross and a grey upside-down heart seemed imprinted on its head. A long zipper-like line ran from one side of it's head to the other, looking almost like a deranged mouth.

It gracefully swayed back and forth as it stood, and the boy wondered for a moment if it were waiting for him. _No way, why would it do that? _He shook his head at the thought, and ran forward with a burst of speed. Roughly stopping in front of the white creature, the boy took what he hoped was a tough-looking stance, and faced off against the thing. It seemed to almost stare at him for a moment - although he didn't know how it did that without any eyes that he could see - then suddenly a strange voice echoed telepathically through his head.

"_We have come for you, my liege."_

"Woah…what the-" The boy took a step back, freaked out by the voice. _What in the world? What did it just say?_ He blinked, and the zipper-like mouth opened, revealing a shadowed head with jagged teeth enclosed inside. As this change occurred, the thing advanced on him. It seemed to weave in the air, doing freaky acrobatics and definitely not behaving like any creature he had ever seen before. Suddenly remembering the Struggle bat he held in his right hand, he gripped it tighter and swung haphazardly at the thing. As the heavy weight of the bat connected with the creature, it seemed to simply bounce off of it. The creature wasn't perturbed at all by the impact of the weighted bat.

Seemingly ignoring the weapon being thrust it's way, the white being lashed out at the blonde teen with a pointed arm. He spun around quickly, avoiding the blow. Taking a few more swings at the thing he stopped a few feet away, breathing heavily.

"It's no use…" he panted, sweat dripping off his curved chin. "…why can't I hit it?" He lifted the bat in front of him once more, the words just falling out of his mouth of their own accord, since there was no one else in the area that he could be speaking to. _Ugg…where did Hayner and Pence and those guys get to? They should be here by now! _The teen thought in frustration as he watched the creature stand on the ground, swaying to a soundless beat. The thing moved suddenly, lifting it's arm to the side, and seven exact replicas appeared beside it in an instant.

_What are these things?_ He thought to himself in a panic.

"Oh man, this isn't good…" The boy groaned, alarmed, as they spread out around him at all sides. He grimaced, and made a sudden mad dash towards the forest. _If I can just make it into town, maybe I can find Hayner and-_

"Ahh!" He cried, tripping and falling to the ground, hard. Fear grew in his gut as he turned his head over his right shoulder to look behind him, and saw what his leg was caught on, or rather, what had caught his leg. "Hey… hey let go!" The white creatures had created a line and had latched onto his legs, and were now pulling him in.

"Hey...hey! Stop, let go of me!" The teen struggled futilely, kicking their bodies and whacking the Struggle bat uselessly against the white beings as they began encircling him. Suddenly, their paper-like arms joined together, and their gaping black holes of mouths forced him to retreat to the center of their woven cage. The blonde hit the outstretched arms with the blue weapon held tight in his grip, but to no avail. The bat had no effect on the creatures, and all the boy's motion did was tire him out further.

Suddenly, a black hole ripped through the air a few feet away from the circle of creatures, and all at once they began to glide towards the swirling black circle. Their prisoner, his stomach filled with terrified dread, was carried towards the black maw with them. _What, are they going to take me in there? _Panicking in fright, he began to attack the creatures with the bat harder and more irrationally, only exhausting him further.

"No! Put me down, let me go!" Closing his eyes to try and block out this nightmare-ish scene, he yelled, "Stop! I won't go back!"

The living cage of his captors moved into the Dark Corridor, ignoring his plea, and the world turned black. Images of the spikey-haired boy Roxas had dreamed of the night before flashed through his head, presenting no answers to his troubled, confused mind. All that they provided was a strange sense that he could not identify. His last thought as he slipped into blissful unconsciousness was of his last protest.

_…Back?..._

* * *

**A/N: **Ok, so maybe I will do this after each of my chapters. Plus: I am very, very lazy. During the school months. So...expect more, and more frequent, updates during the summer. Of course. Oh, and I could not decide what I wanted to do, so I chose to put a song lyric, and and quote on here. Enjoy, since they just seem made for this chapter. This idea was based on the KH manga, particularly the scene where Roxas comes rediculously close to being brought back to the Organization by Dusks. I wanted to know what would have happened if the Keyblade hadn't appeared for Roxas fast enough. It is definitly a work in progress, because honestly, I have very little idea where this should go from here. I only have about 5 points I want to touch on in this story, so the rest is up to my general crazy mood swings!~

Oh, and a shout out I will put at the end of all chapters that are Beta-ed. This chapter was Beta-ed by my wonderful Beta reader **Kiexa**. Thank you Kiexa, your help is very much apprieciated!


	2. To Plan

**Kingdom Hearts 2: Silenced Hearts**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Titles used in this work

* * *

**Day II**

Prepare to Take Decisive Action

__

"Do you ever feel me? Do you ever look deep down inside, staring at yourself, paralyzed..."

-"World so Cold" by Three Days Grace

"I always have trouble remembering three things: faces, names, and-- I can't remember what the third thing is."

-Fred Allen

_____

* * *

_

_"The Keyblade wielder is ours once again."_

_"Yes..."_

_"…What is wrong? Is not this boy key to our plan?"_

_"…"_

_"Do you sense something the matter?"_

_"He will do for our intentions."_

_"…Yes sir."_

_"This boy…this whole situation…has taken an unexpected turn."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"That old fool's meddling with the boy's memories indeed has caused much annoyance towards our organization, but… as we had planned, the end result would have been in our favor either case. Whether he returned willingly or by force, he would still have been in our control…and Sora would never wake, placing the only usable Keybearer in our grasp."_

_"…"_

_"Had he recovered his memories, then awakened Sora, our plan would have fallen perfectly into place. The foolish Keyblade master would undoubtedly collect for us all of the hearts we required, out of his own ignorance."_

_"…"_

_"Instead… number XIII has been returned to us… though…incomplete."_

_"…"_

_"He has no memories of his past life, nor of the organization. Now that Namine's contact with the boy has been extended this far, his memories… should return much more slowly than they would have been, had Number VIII failed his mission."_

_"How are we to use him if he cannot remember anything of his past with the organization, or of the Keyblade?"_

_"…It does not matter that he remembers about the Organization, only…that he stays far from Sora, and does not allow him to awaken. Number XIII is a much easier pawn to manipulate than a Somebody with a heart."_

_"Then, how are we going to get him to destroy more heartless for us? If he has no memories at all, then how are we to influence him? Surely he retains the false images which let him live in that virtual world, and if so, they would blind him to the reality."_

_"…That is true. If we must, those we can erase, simply by telling the truth. He is still under Namine's spell, and will continue to regain his memories. As long as we do not allow him to escape our fingers again, he will walk right along the path we have set, and do just as we say."_

_"…Sir…If he regains his memories from Sora, won't he try and resist? Sora is a troublesome little boy, after all. Even if he is a Nobody, with Sora's dangerous memories inside of him, he may…feel…inclined to act old actions and agendas out as his own. How are we going to keep him from rebelling against us again, especially once his memories from the Organization return? That is the whole reason he left, am I correct?"_

_"…You are, yet you are not. Sora has a strong connection to those around him, and he seems to think that those connections make him powerful. Number XIII is a Nobody, unable to feel emotion, and his old memories, based so highly on feelings, will possibly…interfere with our plans. They will confuse him, and if we are not careful, we will end up the same as before, and he will rebel."_

_"…How are we to stop him?"_

_"For now, we must wait, and watch. As Sora is separated from his Nobody, he shall not be awakening. Without his other half, the half which Number XIII holds within himself, he shall never awaken. Though…this situation is rather…unpredictable."_

_"How so?"_

_"We do not know exactly what would be the consequence of his memories returning like this, how the length away from Namine will affect her work with the boy's memories, or now…even what would happen if the boy were to meet Sora now."_

_"What are you suggesting?"_

_"…I am not suggesting anything. I want to watch the boy; I wish to see what this new path he has been set on holds in store for him. We must assume that he will fight back against our control, and that Sora will not awaken for now."_

_"…Yes sir."_

_"Saix"_

_"Yes, my lord?"_

_" Inform Number VIII that he is not to allow Number XIII to escape again, and that I will not tolerate any failure."_

_"I understand."_

_"And Saix."_

_"…Yes?"_

_"I want you to watch him carefully. Report back to me anything…strange…about Roxas or Number VIII."_

_"…Yes, Lord Xemnas."_

_"This is a waiting game. We anticipate one outcome… yet a better prize may still surface from beneath the black surf. Let us be cautious, and let the inevitable events which are to come play out in our favor."_

* * *

_What is this?_

He could not make sense of what was happening, nor could he put together any consciousness of his being.

_Am I...dreaming?_

He couldn't feel anything, just saw darkness as it invaded the images and shoved them away.

_Why couldn't I summon it…_

He thought abstractly about what he was doing, and couldn't focus his mind at all. Through the fog of his mind he heard a voice calling out.

_Who's that? What are they saying…_

He strained to grasp the words as they rang louder and louder into his head.

_"…you wield the Key…use its power to lock the worlds…you are the light of the worlds…"_

More images swirled past his face: a silver haired boy, lugging something heavy across his back while frowning impatiently; a girl who was laughing; a spiky-haired boy in red, grinning widely.

_Who's that…who are these guys?_

He thought dimly to himself. He wanted to reach out, to touch them, and know that they were real. He couldn't feel anything though; he couldn't feel his body, his voice; no feeling of any kind.

_…What was I trying to form?_

He remembered now: there was something important that he was supposed to be doing, something bad had happened. He struggled against the nothing, numbly grasping with no feeling.

_Why couldn't I summon it…the…_

A bright light shone out against the darkness, and he felt something bothering his face. As he awakened from his unconscious state, he heard the same voice again.

_"…wielder of the Keyblade…"_

His face felt warmth, and his limbs returned to his control. He felt himself able to move, and his eyes began to twitch with lack of use, wishing to open once more. Then as the last bit of the dream faded away, his lips muttered slowly, "…a…Keyblade?"

The puzzling words hung on his tongue as he became aware of his surroundings. For a minute the light was too bright for his half-open eyes to take in, but they grew accustomed to the glare and allowed him to look out to where he was. His eyelids fluttered to piece together the bits of light still dancing in his vision as his head swam with the lingering effects of sleeping for much too long. Finding that he could feel his appendages again, he slowly moved his right hand to his head, groaning at the ache of sudden movement as he sat himself up.

Finding that his eyes had adjusted, he began moving his head around from side to side, trying to figure out where he was. Sweeping the room, he came to three conclusions:

1. There were no doors. The entire place was styled white, with grey markings forming weird patterns everywhere, and had a strange air to it. Somewhat eerie, somewhat chilling, and somewhat familiar, like Déjà vu. The room was huge too, it seemed larger than a large dance hall, even though the constant white and grey coloring probably didn't help him much with size estimations. The same went for the vaulted ceilings; they seemed high enough to be at least several stories tall. It was almost like a royal ballroom, minus extravagant colors or beautiful designs.

2. He dimly recalled how he had gotten here, only that those white…things…had made some sort of cage with themselves and forced him through a black, swirling hole. He couldn't make out where he had been before that, or what he had been doing there. Only that this place, where ever it was, was not a place he wanted to be in right now. It freaked him out, majorly.

3. There was someone else in the room with him.

As he came to this final conclusion, his gaze fell on a man leaning up against the wall opposite him, as if asleep on his feet. His eyes were closed, and his arms crossed in front of his torso. Roxas guessed by his body structure and build that he couldn't be more than 25 years old, even though he had the thinnest body build and arms that the teen had ever seen a healthy person have in his entire life. He was wearing a long, black cloak with silver clasps and jangles, black boots, and matching black gloves. If he didn't know better, he could have said that this guy was a wannabe Goth super-model.

His gaze moved to the man's head, and he studied him with curiosity. The man's hair was unlike anything he had ever seen: bright red spikes swept back behind his head, and jutting out in odd directions. He had pencil thin red eyebrows which were scrunched together at the moment, and underneath each of his closed eyelids the teen could see a reversed raindrop-shape tattoed in almost black. On his closed lips a hint of a smile lingered. As the teen processed this information, the man moved. His eyelids opened to reveal a pair of sea-green eyes, and they were staring directly at him.

Ignoring the pain, he picked himself up to his feet quickly as the figure became animated, pushing off from the wall and spreading his arms out widely in front of him.

"Roxas! It's been awhile man! All the other guys thought that you were long gone!" He began to approach the boy, like he was taking his time in getting there and trying not to startle the younger. His footsteps rang through the room loudly as he deliberately strode towards the boy in a casual manner. Roxas stood his ground, very much confused at the other's laid-back attitude.

"Who are you?" The teen demanded, feeling the strangest feeling of confusion and worry begin to cloud his mind.

The man stopped a few yards away from him, a pouting look covering his face.

"Aw, Roxas! Don't tell me that you've forgotten me." He seemed genuinely hurt, but the teen felt that something was off; it was almost as if he was acting this way, and not really feeling what he seemed to be portraying. Through this act, his features changed, but Roxas noticed that his eyes never did. They stayed the same the whole time; never changing with his shown 'feelings', nor showing anything except…eagerness, or perhaps expectance for something, he couldn't tell. Either way, Roxas was sure that this guy was bad news, even if he did seem a little familiar.

Suddenly, the teen remembered what he had been doing before those mysterious things had shown up and brought him here. He had been hanging out with his friends in Twilight Town, and they had confronted Seifer's gang, and then one of those white things had shown up and stolen Pence's camera. Then he had followed it to the old mansion, and then…

"No, I don't know you. How do you know my name, where am I, and who are you?" Roxas demanded in a burst of words, his frustration at the other man's behavior beginning to show.

The figure raised his hands up in front of him in mock defense, and said, "Hey, slow down dude." He crossed his arms again and shut his eyes, turning his head away from the younger boy for a minute. "Jeez, you sure know how to hurt a guy's feelings, y'know?" He turned his face back to Roxas, then let out a low chuckle as he opened his eyes.

He's playing with me! Roxas thought to himself in anger. He didn't like where this situation was going, so he pressed harder.

"Tell me! Who are you? Where am I?" He was tensed, a familiar yet unknown feeling to the teen, as if he was preparing for a fight. _This guy, what is he? It's like…it's like he knows me. That's so weird…I'm sure I've never seen someone like him around before…_

The man lowered his arms to rest at his sides, and his face changed to a serious expression as he prepared to speak.

"Roxas, you really don't remember me?" Roxas looked quizzically at him, wondering if this was a trick, then just as seriously, nodded solemnly. Sighing, the man chuckled a bit.

"Roxas, what did I tell you? And here I am, thinking that you were listening to everything I said, how ridiculous. I told you to memorize it, didn't I?" He looked at the younger boy, searching for even a hint of recognition.

The blonde's face remained impassive, and the red-head sighed to himself. _Man, is he really that far gone? This plan Saix has had better work…_

Inside of Roxas's head, however, he was starting to get a fierce migraine. He gripped his head in pain, and started to hunch over, a pained expression on his pale face.

_What…what is this? I…_ He heard words, saw disorienting images swirling around inside his brain. Bits of conversations he couldn't remember were caught by his ears,

_"…hey, Roxas...Roxas…you know why the sun sets red…got it memorized? …your mind's made up...you can't turn your back on the Organization! ...that's not true…I would…"_

"…Looks like it's starting…" The red-head murmured to himself, keeping himself away from the boy only because he knew that approaching would only panic the younger kid. He inwardly grimaced at himself at what he was about to do; he didn't want to do this to the teen, but Xemnas himself had ordered it, and he wasn't about to go and disobey him. Holding his hands out to his sides he summoned two lethal-looking spiked-circlets from two separate rings of light, then called out to the boy holding his head in pain just yards away.

"Roxas."

That one word, his name, was like a drain to his swirling thoughts flowing through and bombarding his mind. Within moments, the voices were gone, and his head was clear of the daze. Looking up again at the man before him, he noticed the round steel weapons held in his hands, and realized with growing worry as to his intentions. Taking a step backwards, Roxas could feel his mind trying to sort this situation out.

This isn't happening...this isn't happening...All the while, his hands tingled slightly, but his mind was so absorbed with the threat of the other man that he didn't notice the familiar feeling in his arms, nor the defensive stance his legs were naturally slipping into. He could only think about how this must be a dream, how this couldn't possibly be happening. He wanted to run, scream, get away, anything. He just couldn't get his legs to move properly. He felt, oddly enough, more so that this shouldn't be happening than it couldn't, and he hadn't the faintest idea as to why.

_This is too weird...why does this feel...wrong? I should want to run, but...I just feel...like this entire situation shouldn't be happening. This feels like I should be doing something...but what?_

His mind thought these things rapidly, but he had no time to figure out the meanings to the strange feelings as the red-head began to move. All he could feel was unease; a strange thing, since he should be terrrified.

Pointing one of the deadly weapons at the boy in front of him, the red-head said with a threatening air around him, "Now Roxas, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

Roxas cringed, and took two steps back. His inward fear finding its way onto his face, the man opposite him began to walk forwards, not yet an attack, but threatening none the less.

"What… what are you going to do to me?" Roxas asked, trying to suppress his urge to bolt from this man.

The figure stopped for a moment, and turned his head to the side, avoiding eye contact with the sapphire orbs staring widely into him. Those orbs of blue which had once looked at him in understanding, laughter, and friendship. Now all they held was confusion, unease, and fear.

His eyes adverted from the younger boy's form, as though it pained him to do so, he answered in a low tone, "Sorry Roxas, but Superior's orders, y'know? I just have to see if there's any of you left in there." His eyes changed to a dangerous, almost excited tone, and he braced his body and muscles to move. "Try not to get killed too fast, okay Roxas? Got it memorized?"

Then... he attacked.

* * *

_At a long white table sits a small girl. Frail by nature, she colors on a drawing pad. More of her work dots the white walls surrounding her. Although she should not be by nature, she is sad, and worried. A man materializes from nowhere, out of a pillar of darkness a few feet away from where she sits. He is very peculiar; a red scarf is wrapped tightly around his head, blocking most features but one yellow eye and his mouth from view. He approaches the young blonde, only taking a few steps, for his visit shall not be long._

_"Namine. The boy has been taken from my program far too soon, our whole plan is in jeopardy!" he exclaims, as the young girl places her hands on her lap and continues to sit with a forlorn look on her soft face. Noticing no reaction thus far, he speaks again. "What of the process with his memories, will you be able to halt the transfer now that he is in their control?"His voice is steady, yet urgency spikes his words._

_She continues to look down, never meeting his gaze. "It has gone out of my control; I can only do so much now."_

_The man looks intently at her, his face shows little change in emotion. "By what do you mean? You cannot stop his memories from returning?" He puts up one hand to stroke his chin thoughtfully. "If he continues to absorb Sora's memories at the rate I had calculated initially, he would be ready to awaken the boy in under a week. But he cannot be used to awaken Sora early if he is under their hand. I do not know if I could retrieve him from them again, even if I sent-"_

_"You don't need to get him back." The girl interrupts him. Her gaze is still on the table, and she cannot meet his eyes. The man watches her with mild confusion, and annoyance for her interruption._

_"What do you mean? Without him, Sora's awakening will not happen for many more weeks, if ever! He still needs the parts of his memory inside of his Nobody to return!" He moves closer to the girl in urgency, waiting for her answer._

_Turning her gaze to meet his, she replies, "I cannot halt the memories of Sora's past going back to him. They will be back within the week, but…" She pauses and looks down again at her blank drawing pad. "I…I can make the memories which are his own not return to him."_

_The man looks down at her, doubt flickering through his revealed eye. "What good would that do for Sora?" He questions her._

_She is quiet for a moment, then responds. "It…it will not let him grow attached to the Organization again. He abandoned them once…because he wanted the truth. If I just don't let those thoughts return to him…" She looks up at the man, her sapphire blue eyes meeting the intense gaze of the man's. "Then it may not rekindle any wish he had to stay with them. He will only seek that which he knows about: Sora and his true past." She looks back down to the table. "He doesn't need to remember the Organization."_

_The man contemplates what she has just told him, he fingers his chin delicately, then sets his arm at his side after much thought. Crossing his arms behind his back, he turns away from the girl and begins to walk away. A dark corridor of black darkness appears in front of him, and before he steps into it, he speaks aloud for the girl to hear. "Namine." She does not respond. "Do not let Roxas remember the Organization, or any of the past year. After the week is up, I will send my messenger to fetch him from within the Organization's stronghold. Make sure that Roxas wishes to return here by then, and do not allow him to remember any of the Organization or its members." Then he steps forward into the corridor of darkness, and vanishes once more._

_The girl, Namine, still sitting at the desk, picks up a coloring pencil and beings to draw on a pad of drawing paper. Coloring the lines she carefully works, and after a while she stops, and sets her pencil down beside the pad. She looks at what she has just drawn and her still mouth moves downward into a sad frown. She looks at the paper, the picture of the blonde boy in white and black, and the tall red-headed figure. She takes a black pencil and begins to draw again, her hand moving gracefully across the sheet as the pencil leaves its mark on the peaceful drawing. Finishing, she says slowly, "Roxas…I'm sorry…"then stares in sadness at the image now; the boy who wears a sad look, confused and alone, and the dark blur which used to be the other, the memory smothered by her hand._

* * *

**A/N: **Revised a little bit...having issues with italics and centering...so if it comes out all italicized or nothing in the center...I'm working on it...


	3. To Learn

**Kingdom Hearts 2: Silenced Hearts**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any Titles used in this work

* * *

**Day II**

Soon to be Coming to Your Old Senses

_"Doubting yourself for no good reason, you're listening to someone else..."_

_-_"I'm Here" by Aly & A.J.

"Follow your heart, but be quiet for a while first. Ask questions, then feel the answer. Learn to trust your heart."

-Unknown

* * *

**A**s fast as a wink, the red-head charged at the boy like a bull, his steel weapons held out before him to skewer the blonde with their pointed ends right into his chest. Blue eyes widening in shock, his body reacted before his mind registered the movement. Legs bending, then springing agilely to the right, his muscles commanded him like clockwork. For some strange reason, his body acted almost on impulse to the man's attacks with extraordinary evasion tactics; his arms swayed out of the blades reach just carefully enough, his torso shifted to get the heart and vitals furthest from the blade, and his legs' speed came quickly and felt natural.

The red-head came in for another swipe diagonally, putting a little more speed into the attack. Roxas reacted in turn by twisting his body to the right, avoiding the deadly blade by mere inches. His attacker moved swiftly and gracefully, and to the non-existance observer, it almost seemed as though the two were involved in some sort of deranged, wild dance rather than an attempt to keep from being ripped to shreds.

The precision the teen felt was basic to him, the movement of his muscles corresponding to the fight was like instinct, his urge to counter attack was more as a mandatory reaction than a foreign idea…_as though I'm used to people attacking me, and I… attack them back._

Roxas shivered visibly as the silver and red steel spikes sliced through the place he had been standing but moments earlier as the man swung at his arm._ But…that can't be right! _His mind struggled to think amidst the rush of adrenaline, his heaving chest, and the intense, overbearing heat of the attack…_Wait, heat? I know that moving makes you sweat and all, but this feels almost like, real…_

Roxas recovered from his evade quickly; skidding with his heels on the polished floor before coming to a rest several feet away. His breath came in short bursts, but he surprised himself with his moves just moments earlier.

_How in the world did I just?...I'm sure that I've never dodged something, well, like that before! Where are all these moves coming from?_ His thoughts rushed through his head, screaming random answers into his overworked and pounding brain. A gleam of sweat began forming on his skin, and his hair stuck to his face where it touched, making his usually messy hair look mottled and disarranged.

His attacker brought the weapons back towards himself, and stood up again, holding the chakrams loosely at his sides. The man in black smiled; the corners of his mouth played upwards slightly, and a secretive gleam shone from his pale-green eyes.

"Well Roxas, I guess you still know how to dodge, at least." He laughed, a short, humorless chuckle, but the feeling did not reach those green eyes. Those eyes which still bore into the boy as thought they were they were scouring his soul itself.

Confused, angry, and a little bit frightened, he clenched his fist tightly, focusing all of his tension into that ball of concentrated flesh and bone. He consitered socking the man right between the eyes if he came at him again, but figured that with his short reach, the man could just as easily slice straight through his arm as he could a piece of paper.

Thoughts rattled his mind, each one more confusing and heated as the next._ Why am I here? Who is this? What is he- _Then he saw something flicker out of his perifial vision. It took every ounce of his willpower to focus his eyes on the shifting shapes, but they were there all right. Blinking his eyes a few times to guarantee that they were not deceiving him, he watched in stunned silence as thin, fiery tendrils delicately wrapped themselves around the steel-bladed circles the man held. Gently, he let them curl around his outstretched fingers as though playing with them.

_Those flames…how are they not burning him?_ Roxas thought to himself wildly, as he watched the figure caress the fire as though he were its master. _That…that's not possible. This…how is he doing that?_ He didn't even notice when his own mouth moved; he spoke as though his inner questions had finally burst from his small form, and they needed to escape from his mute body.

"Who…who are you?" This was the question the boy said almost in a whisper, but it reached the man in black anyway. The red-head's eyebrow's went up a fraction in feign surprise, and the flames died down to his feet, circling his body like a ring of fire. He kept the rings of steel blades at his sides, though he did not raise them threateningly as before. When he spoke, it startled the blonde, for he had not yet realized that he had spoken his question aloud.

"Roxas." The boy flinched noticeable at his name, but did not respond to the man's voice. His eyes roamed the cloaked figure for an answer. The man did not give a knowing smile again; he was tired of this game, tired of looking, and tired of hiding from him. He hated being tired, it made him feel old.

"Roxas, we both know that answer." He stared hard at the boy, as if daring him to reproach his words. The blonde just stood, seemingly too confused to respond. _Come on Roxas…listen to me…_ "I thought I told you once already that I'm not gonna repeat myself." He turned his head slightly down, and as his eyes became shaded from the shadow of his hair, the edges of his mouth turned into a tired, almost sad, smile. "Now, you're not going to try and make a liar out of me…are you?"

The brief smile was gone as soon as it appeared, his eyes coming back into focus again: bright green bore into blue, trying to send the message into his very soul. Desperation clung to his words like rain, pulling him down as he spoke the dampened words. "Listen to me, Roxas. I know it's there…somewhere deep inside of your memories." His gaze never strayed from the boy, the intent to deliver his message blazed like Greek fire. His left hand slashed through the air as he spoke his next words, like in a fury at some unseen opponent. "You've gotta find it…you have to remember!" The urgency in his voice surprised the boy, his tone had changed from secretive and knowing to having an almost desperate edge so suddenly, that for a moment Roxas felt…something.

The boy shook his head, and his immediate thought was of denial; he did not want the red-headed man to be right, he couldn't stand the thought for some reason. Nonsensically, his mind forced itself to ignore possibilities, to ignore logic, to ignore his own feelings.

"I…I don't know you! I don't remember you…and I don't know! I just…don't know…" Roxas's voice rang out with newfound volume, though they lacked any true force. He yelled the words almost to just to try and prove that he was right, just to try and hold onto what he knew, just to make the other wrong. His voice began to crack, as to his surprise, he found that he was shaking.

His blue eyes closed a brief moment in thought, and he fought back against a throbing headache. _Oh man…why can't I remember? Remember… remember what? I don't know this guy…do I? What's the truth?_ His pupils dilated as they sprang open, and his hand went instinctively to his face as the world blurred around him. His head coursed with unprecedented pain, pounding like drums inside of his mind. He did not even notice as he fell to his knees, the pounding was excruciating.

_What…what's happening? I can't…I can't remember…_ The pain was unforgiving, yet while the pounding inside his skull increased, his fears did as well. _I…I can't remember…anything!_ As hundreds, no, thousands of images raced through his mind, he felt a strange sensation of pulling.

Faces of tall people, people in black cloaks, three teens running past a sidewalk, a town covered in the warm glow of the setting sun, stunning scenery that couldn't belong to this world, names and words and actions he thought he should know, all whizzing past his mind like those similar ones did earlier. Only this time, they felt more familiar, almost as though these things were normal. He could not feel any great urge to remember, it was more like a vacuum taking away those thoughts and sights, smells and sounds. It almost felt as though something was pulling a block of something out of his mind, although it was large and difficult to move.

These pictures he saw, none of which he could even identify anymore, blurred and faded as the pulling lessened, then stopped altogether as his world went black.

* * *

He was suspended in darkness, and nothing surrounded him.

_What's happening__? _He thought blankly to himself.

_What is this place?_

A scene of blue, white, and green settled in front of him, enveloping his body in its warm glow. An image of a teenage boy, sparring on a sandy beach with an older teen, each fighter with a look of determination on their faces appeared from the light. The older boy had silver hair was wearing a yellow vest and baggy blue pants, the younger was a brunette with red and white pants and shirt, and large yellow shoes. A girl in white and purple sat off to the side, watching the spar with a smile on her face. Her short, red-brown hair blew gently in the wind, and she laughed as the silver-haired boy whacked the other with his wooden sword, and he fell into the sand with a 'whoom'. The teen in yellow stood panting for a moment as the brunette rubbed his side and tried to stand up again, and failed.

The older boy extended his hand out to help the other, and the kid in red took it gratefully, leaping up off the sand. The girl sighed, knowing that they could do this all day, and smiled. They all looked so happy, being together. They were having fun, and seemed really close. Unlike the other time he saw these guys though, Roxas could hear their voices, even though they were muted slightly.

_Hey…these are the kids I saw before, I think. I wonder who they are…they seem so familiar…_His mind wandered back to the scene as the teens began speaking again.

He heard the girl's soft laugh, and the exaggerated sigh from the silver-haired teen as he waited for the other to attack again. The spiky-haired teen grinned and said with a determined smile, "I'm gonna win this time for sure, Riku! Then, you have to buy me and Kairi some ice cream!" The older boy, Riku, smirked in amusement, and pointed his wooden sword at his younger opponent in a mocking gesture.

"Come on Sora, I do that every day because you never have any munny! Besides," he said, then went into a defensive position "you never win against me." With the teen's words, Roxas felt a different force pull him close to the scene. Suddenly, Roxas was not watching the scene from a distance, but he was seeing it from the brunette's eyes.

He could feel his pulse, the adrenaline coursing through his system. He felt the light weight of the wooden sword, and felt his muscles tensing as his body moved on its own accord to attack. He had no control over his actions, it was almost as though he was just occupying the brunette's body and watching from the boy's eyes. Spiked hair waving in the breeze, he ran at Riku, and went for his chest. The older boy motioned to block, but the other wasn't finished. He swung the play sword away just at the last minute, and instead took a swing for Riku's side. The older took the hit in surprise, and fell to one knee as Sora retreated a few feet with a springing jump.

He grinned good-naturedly, a familiar feeling on his bright face, and said, "Well, I think that today that's gonna change."

_Huh, what the-? _Roxas thought as his mind was suddenly pulled away from the teen's body, and seemed to float above the scene once more. His eyes just those of the observer once more.

_That was so strange._ Roxas thought to himself. _It felt so real, like I actually did that._ He concentrated for a moment in confusion.

_Wait…did I do that? What is this anyway? It's so nostalgic…_His sight once more focused on the picture, as it seemed the duo's practice fight was drawing to a close.

The girl, Kairi, stood up and cheered the boys on, her enthusiasm flushing her face. Riku shoved his sword into the sands, and pushed himself up without too much effort. He grinned acknowledgement, then held his hands up in the air halfway.

"Ok, ok, you got me! Let's stop early today, Sora. I think we've got enough practicing in." The other boy let his shoulders droop in an exaggerated manner, then began whining about how he was about to beat the other boy, and that he was only scared of losing his win streak. Ignoring the energetic boy's complaints, the Riku started walking away, and Kairi ran over from her place on the sidelines to join them as they strode away from the scene, over a small hill to the ice cream shack.

_What…was this? _Roxas thought as the image disappeared. _I wonder where this came from. Did I…remember it?_ As his body floated in space pondering what he had just observed, a small light appeared to his right, growing larger with each second. _Hm, what's that?_ He moved his gaze to look at the growing form, and saw that a figure was sort of appearing from the glow.

Around the same height as he was, a girl about his age in a white dress seemed to appear from the light, hands tightly clasp in front of her. Her medium-length blonde hair fell around her shoulders, and she had on a saddened expression as her aqua-blue orbs met Roxas's similar ones.

The two stood there for a minute, each observing the other, and it was a while before either spoke. The girl's voice sounded first; her gentle tone deepened by a strange emotion which Roxas could not identify, whether it was the dark space around him or something else.

"Hello, Roxas." The girl watched him with her blue eyes, silently studying him with polite curiosity.

Roxas looked at her with confusion, but more of a calm demeanor than when he was confronted by the man from before. This girl seemed to be more trustworthy, and more calming than the mysterious figure earlier, so Roxas asked his question without fear, but hopeful to get answers from this strange new girl.

"Who are you? How do you know who I am?" His voice bounced off unseen walls, but no echo sounded.

She shook her head sadly, but replied, "Roxas, I've known about you… for a long time now." He watched her with interest, but still with caution; he did not fear this person like the black-cloaked man, she seemed to give out almost a peaceful aura of sorts. She continued in her serious, yet calm demeanor.

"My name is Namine, and I am going to help restore your true memory." As she said this, her gaze fell to her feet, and silence filled the air. For some reason, she seemed as though she was ashamed of something. Roxas spoke again, only a few of his many questions escaping in a rush.

"What do you mean, restore?" His voice showed his concern, and slight fear taking root. "Is…is something wrong with my memory? Do you mean like that guy said, that I have to remember something? What do I have to remember?" His innocent look of confusion made Namine feel worse, though, she thought to herself, she was a Nobody and therefore could not literally 'feel'. She looked up and into his blue eyes again.

"What you remembered of your past life…isn't right." She started, then paused for him to understand. He did not respond, so she continued. "I…I'm going to fix it. It will take a little time, but you need to know your real memories, Roxas." She glanced away at this, and the boy was confused at her action. She acted as though guilty of something, even though Roxas did not know what. Still, there was a feeling of trust around her, and he felt as though he believed her word.

Biting her lip a little, she decided to tell him, even though she was under orders which forbade her from doing so. _I don't care what _he_ says, Roxas deserves to know at least a little bit of the truth._ She didn't meet his eyes, but instead stared off into the darkness as she spoke again.

"You will be able to recall almost everything that has happened in your past, for real, except for a few parts." He looked at her quizzically, not sure of what she meant.

"Huh? I can't remember everything?" He threw his arms out in front of him in frustration. "Why not?" He demanded. He looked to her for answers, but she would not meet his longing gaze. She couldn't bear to. His questioning eyes roamed her face for a sign, a hint of what it meant, but her features revealed nothing to him. When she spoke again, it was barely more than a whisper, and it was as though she spoke carefully, to hide something.

"I…am not supposed to say, but…" she looked up into his eyes, and he was surprised to see that her eyes were filled with a deep sadness, which seeped into his soul and made him confused even more than he already was. Finding the right words, she finished.

"…I'll be restoring all of your memories…from your time as a human. A Somebody."

A chill ran through the boy's spine, a strange coldness seemed to creep up through his fingers as her words echoed around his ears.

"A…Somebody? What…what does that mean?" He raised his hand to his chest, and said insistently, "But, I am human! What are you talking about?" His inquisitive look was almost too much for her mind to bear, but she continued, knowing now that she could not stop her explanation there.

"Roxas…" She began, trying to put her words as delicately as she could. "You know about Heartless, right?" Her sudden question surprised the boy, but he nodded, unsure of what she meant.

"Yeah, everybody knows about those! They're dangerous dark creatures, and they steal people's hearts." This was basic knowledge to him, he could remember that someone had told him this at one time, but he couldn't quite recall who. _Weird…I wonder why I can't remember who told me that. It is kinda important, so thats odd... _

Namine's face showed no change, although inside she felt miserable, but knew that she had to press on.

"Well, when a Heartless steals a normal person's heart… their heart becomes lost in the darkness. That person then becomes a Heartless, or one without a heart, and runs instinctively to steal more hearts." She paused for a moment, then taking a breath continued.

"When a person with a very strong heart has their heart taken by Heartless, their body becomes a Heartless too, and their heart shrouded in darkness. But… these people with strong hearts…from their strong wills are born a new creature. It is like a... replica, of who they used to be, with a few minor changes to their appearence, and they retain all of their memories and abilities from when they were human. Except…for their hearts." She paused once more, and could feel the boy's deepening look beating into her. With a sad sigh, she continued.

"Since they do not have a heart, they cannot feel emotion, and so are called… Nobodies." She raised her head to meet the boy's startled, fearful eyes. "Roxas, you are…a Nobody. You once had a heart, but it was lost to darkness. Roxas…you shouldn't exist." There was silence for a long time after her words, and she could not hold his distraught gaze any longer.

She turned her head to her feet, now debating on whether this had been better for the boy or not. _I didn't have to tell him…perhaps it was better that he not know…no. He would have found out eventually, and plus…I just couldn't bear lying to him…_

Roxas did not speak for a long time; his body just could not form words. It was coming in too fast, all of this information. That his life had been one huge lie, that he technically was dead, that he shouldn't exist, that he…had no heart. The shock came slowly to the boy, he just couldn't register this fact.

"No…no! I…I am somebody, I…I have to be!" He shook his head violently, and he couldn't control the shaking in his arms as he raised them in front of him and stared blankly at them. "I…" His eyes lost their fight as he thought about her words. "I…don't…have a heart?" A terrible look of realization and sadness clouded his features.

"So…what? What does that mean?" He stretched out his thin arms, and looked at them as though seeing them for the first time. "Am I...what am I supposed to do then?"

Namine spoke, her voice barely more than a whisper. She did not meet his staring eyes. "This…this is why I need to restore you to the way you once were, Roxas." At the use of his name again, he lowered his arms back to his sides, and listened mutely to her words with his head lowered in a dull, blank fashion.

"If…if I can return to you your rightful memories…you should be able to be whole again. You can get your heart back, and rejoin with your friends." His head snapped up at these words, slight hope flickering in his bright eyes. It was not much, but it was enough to give him some strength.

"So…how are you giving me back my memories? How did I lose them in the first place?" He motioned with his arms in confusion, which turned into frustration as more and more unanswered questions spilled out of him. "Who are those guys on the beach? Was that a memory too?" Namine raised her head again at this, and replied to his question, to the relief of the blonde boy.

"Yes, I have begun to bring your lost memories back to you." She looked deep into the boy's eyes, and continued. "Those guys…those kids were from your past. You used to know them, once upon a time." She adverted her gaze once more. "The process may take a few days, but once it's done…you can return to your heart. You can be whole again, and go back to your friends." She looked away sadly.

"I cannot tell you who they are; you have to remember that on your own." Roxas nodded his head once in understanding, it would be unfair for her to just reveal everything to him, or else he would not know if he were really remembering, or just imagining from what he wanted to believe.

"But…" his voice faltered. The nagging feeling in his mind still tugged on his conscience."…I still have so many questions! Who is that guy with the red hair, what does he want with me? Did I know him? Who should I believe?" She shook her head quickly, stopping his barrage of questions. The space around him seemed heavier suddenly, and he looked around himself to see light filling up the dark edges of his mind. In worry, he desperately looked again to Namine, and saw that she was fading.

"Wait! Don't go! I still have so much to ask!" He insisted, but she raised her blue eyes to look into his and his protests died at his lips.

"I cannot say. You need to decide who to trust, Roxas. After all..." Her body grew more and more see-through with each second, until the teen's eyes could only barely see her outline in the growing light. "...they are your memories Roxas. Trust yourself, and your own memories. Remember who you are." As light obscured the dark space around him, and he could feel himself waking up from sleep he did not know he had been in, he could hear the girl's final words to him as though she were speaking right beside his ear.

"Oh, and don't forget how to use the Keyblade. It would be really bad…if the Keyblade master couldn't summon his own weapon!" A brief giggle, and what Roxas thought was a hint of a smile, were the last things he saw before reality returned to him.

* * *

It had been a good five minutes now that the blonde had stayed in his kneeling position on the floor, his eyes glassy and vacant. The red-head was getting worried now; had he freaked him out that much?

_I really didn't think that it was going so badly…oh man, Saix is gonna kill me for sure this time…_ He dismissed his chakrams in a flash of light and made a motion to move towards the boy, but stopped himself when he thought of something. _Wait, what if his mind is connected to Namine right now?_

He began to get nervous, which made him frustrated, because he was unsure of what could happen if Namine were to enter Roxas's mind now. Would he attack? Would she reveal to him about the Organization's plans? Would she halt the memory restoration process? Many questions burned in the pyro's mind, but his troubled thoughts were disrupted as the small form's shoulder twitched slightly. The bladed circlets appeared instinctively in his hands, for he did not know what would happen once the boy awoke.

_Will he…maybe…remember?_ A slight tug occurred in the man's chest, although he could not feel it, he guessed that if he had a heart, perhaps what he was wanting right now was…_hope?_

He shrugged off the non-existant feeling, for he was a Nobody, and therefore could not 'feel'. Their Superior had drilled this knowledge into them so often, it was like a basic rule of life that each member just repeated to themselves each day. Each time someone recalled having an emotion of sorts, His words would come back to remind them that they no longer 'felt' anything.

Number VIII carefully watched the blonde figure as he stirred, and began to emerge from his trance-like state.

_Well…whatever happens…the only way to get the old Roxas back now…is to force it out of him, it looks like._Roxas's mind returned to the world outside, and as it did, he noticed what was wrong. His encounter with the mysterious girl burned fresh and alive in his mind, as did his dreams about the teens from before on the beach. As he sought out what he had been doing before that, before he began to fight the cloaked man, he couldn't recall anything. Everything before waking up in this room was a blank, a hole in his memory, as though it had never existed before. As his blue eyes returned to focus, he slowly looked up to the man in confusion, and a new fear began to grow on his pale face.

* * *

"I…" Roxas's voice waivered, as if he could barely form the words. "Why…can't I remember?" The man's grip on the weapons lessened, his arms went slack as he realized that the boy's face looked to him in complete helplessness, and those deep-blue eyes sought in him answers which he could not give. If he had a heart, it would have ached to see the boy like this.

"I…I don't know how I got here." His eyes continued to stare at the man, no longer angry, but more of a desperate question. The red-head's grip on his weapons tightened; narrowing his eyes he matched the boy's stare, unable to tell him that answer. He was worried that he was running out of time, and that he should finish his assigned task quickly. He looked again to the other's face, and something inside of him quivered. He swore that if he had a heart, that it was breaking right now just looking at how pathetically Roxas was looking at him. His eyes burned the question which his lips repeated.

_He doesn't remember anymore? Does this mean…_ the red-head dismissed his chakrams, and they disintegrated in fragments of light and flame. The boy did not react to this action, he only observed in silent confusion. He could no longer remember why the man had tried to attack him in the first place, only that he had tried to slice him in two for no good reason.

"Where were you before you came to his room, Roxas?" The man spoke suddenly, his blunt question startling the confused boy abruptly. He needed to know what was really going on inside the boy's head, if they were ever going to figure out what to do with him.

"I…" The blonde scrunched his eyebrows together in serious concentration. "I…can't remember." He looked up in confusion to the other's face, his eyes searching and lost.

"Why did you attack me? What do you want?" He rose to his feet slowly, eyes never leaving the other man's gaze, even as his feet wobbled and threatened to collapse under him. The other man stared back calmly, but inside he was also confused.

_So Namine must have erased all of his fake memories from the simulation…but why? What is DiZ planning now…_ The red-head thought to himself, suspicion mounting on his increasing list of things buzzing through his mind.

"Fair enough Roxas. I'll tell, but you have to tell something also." The boy did not respond, but registered the man's words carefully. "I still need to find out how much you remember, kid, so it's time you get to answer my question." He held out his hand in an explanatory gesture, and took a moment to speak. "What…are you fighting for, Roxas?"

The blonde was startled, taken back by the sudden sincere question. He set his eyes to the side, and thought for a moment. After a minute, he returned his gaze to match the man's, and replied.

"I guess...I just want to know...who I was. I...want my heart back." The red-head's eyebrows moved up slowly in honest surprise, this was not what he expected to hear, but it was interesting news.

_So…he probably knows that he's a Nobody, at least. He's also got a few of Sora's memories inside him too…darn it, DiZ! What in the world are you doing to him? Why can't he remember the Organization, if he remembers that he has no heart?_ His anger flared for a moment, but his only change in demeanor occurred with a grimace with his thoughts, and was cast aside with the boy's new movement. He had completely ignored the taller Nobody's reaction to his answer, and was instead staring intently at his outstretched palm.

_Did he really remember that much so fast? _The red-head's mind flooded with questions on the boy's behalf. He reached up to his head, and pulled on a few spikes of his hair out of habit as he thought about the situation. _Well, I guess I'll just have to wait and see…what exactly they're doing to him…darn it._

Roxas stared down at his hand suddenly, and thought back to what that girl had said. _I wonder, what did she mean? If I concentrate like this…_ The boy reached his hand out in front of his body, and in an instant a strange glow lit up his out stretched arm, and a huge key appeared in a warm glow of light. While surprised, he inspected his newfound weapon. It was sliver and had a golden handle, with a keychain dangling from the hilt with the shape of a familiar looking insignia in the shape of three circlets of silver. It felt light and natural in his hands, yet at the same time, foreign and new. He held it out in confusion, his questioning look fastened on it as he spoke again.

"This…is the Keyblade…isn't it?" He swung it down vertically, and it responded to his actions with ease. "Did I…used to fight with it?" He asked unsurely to the other man, the insecurity open on his face.

He held it tightly at his side once more, his gaze no longer on the cloaked man, but rather was fixed on the strange blade he held in his grasp. "It feels…right, to be holding it. I mean..." he swung it experimentally some more "...at least I feel like I've used it before." He looked up at the man again, almost as if he was stating a fact, and was just waiting for the red-head to contradict him. He did not trust this man, for his strange unprovoked actions earlier, but Roxas knew that if anyone knew who he used to be, that it would probably be this strange, dangerous man before him.

The man just watched him, carefully observing the boy's actions. When the red-head continued to remain silent, the teen just kept speaking, hoping to draw some information out of him, or at least a word.

"I heard someone talk about it in a dream, or at least, I think it was a dream." Looking up for a response, Roxas was startled to find that the man had turned away from him, towards a large swirl of darkness. "Hey, where are you going? You still haven't answered my question!" The boy demanded, his calm demeanor melting away as the man pointedly ignored his talk. As he closed in on the final few feet, he yelled out again at the figure, trying desperately to get an answer from the mysterious man. "At least…at least tell me your name! That's all I need!" His voice got very quiet all of a sudden, causing the figure to slow in his strides.

"Listen to me!" The boy spoke up suddenly. The red-head stopped his walk towards the swirling black mass, but did not turn to face him. No emotion flickered across his tempered face; he did not let any pass, even if Roxas could not see his expression. The boy stared defiantly at the back of his spiky-haired head, and almost willed him to turn and face him. He did not respond, and Roxas sighed, then sort of shied away from a direct confrontation. He continued speaking, but now less demanding, and more of an almost apologetic or off-beat way.

"I knew you, I just remembered. I…don't really know how though." His right arm moved to rub against his left, not knowing what else to say. He just felt as though this needed to be said. "I…I'm sure I knew you, somehow." His gaze moved to the back of the spiked, red hair, and a forlorn expression reached out from his eyes and tried to reach the man before him.

The boy, although he did not know it, looked just as he did throughout most of the past year of his existence: bleak, and empty of feeling. Simply because he was told that he was forever denied the reality of having his heart, and having no emotions, he would not even let himself feel anything. Even if he did 'feel' something now, he reminded himself, it would not matter. He was a Nobody, and any 'emotions' he thought he felt…weren't real. They were just memories left over from his past. His past which he was just now beginning to recover, apparently.

"I just wish…" the younger finished with a longing, but earnest look as he stared after the man in black. "…I wish…that I still did." Each figure stood there for a moment more, neither responding. It seemed like an eternity before either would move, but the empty loneliness radiating from the smaller Nobody certainly created a void-like feeling to the atmosphere. Without turning around or registering the boy any further, the man resumed walking, and passed into the black vortex. He stood there a moment, then let himself become swallowed by the dark energy.

As the last wisps of black darkness encased the cloaked figure he spoke aloud, too softly for the boy to catch; his face turned from the boy. "Yeah, Roxas…I wish so too." Roxas could not see, but as he left the confused, sorrowed teen in that room, his mouth was fixed in a saddened line and his sea-green eyes were downcast in uncharacteristic regret.

* * *

**A/N:** Hm...too much random emotion? I think that I will try and work on that...everytime I read over this chapter, it just seems waaay too...overly dramatic. I need to chill out on the emotion levels, or at least take a break and be able to scan my work more thoroughly. Maybe I'm just not concentrating...

Anyway, I hope that you peoplez liked it, even if I didn't...


End file.
